Quick PSP Reference Guide

[Demonchild]

I'm working on putting together a PSP Reference Guide for all users so that they can better understand what model PSP can do what, etc. Even though this guide was created by me, it would be appreciated if everyone who has something to add, contribute, etc., please do so.

PSP Models


PSP-1000

Nick: PSP Phat
Hackable: Yes
Firmware: 1.00, 1.50, 2.00, 2.50, 2.60, 2.70, 2.71, 3.03, 3.11, 3.50, 5.03 or All via Pandora
Motherboards: TA-079, TA-081, TA-082, TA-086
Pandora: Can create batteries and boot into service mode.
Recommended Method of Hacking: ChickHEN or Pandora

*Allows files to be flashed to flash0*
*Custom Firmware Can Be Flashed To This Model PSP*


PSP-2000

Nick: PSP Slim
Hackable: Yes, under special circumstances
Firmware: 3.60 - 3.96 [via Pandora], all upgradeable to 5.03 for ChickHEN
Motherboards: TA-085 [v1-v2], TA-088 [v1-v3]
Pandora: TA-085v1 is the only Slim motherboard that can create batteries.

The TA-085 [v1-v2] and TA-088 [v1-v2] can still boot into service mode. The TA-088v3 is the only motherboard that cannot do either.

Recommended Method of Hacking: ChickHEN or Pandora for motherboards that support it.

*Slims with the TA-085 [v1-v2] or TA-088 [v1-v2] motherboards can flash files to flash0.
*Custom firmware can be flashed to these PSP models with those motherboards only*
*All Slims with these motherboards can also upgrade to 5.03 to use the ChickHEN exploit in order to permanently flash custom firmware.*

*Slims with the TA-088 [v3] motherboard cannot flash their PSPs at this time.
*Pandora Batteries cannot created with this motherboard.*

*TA-088 [v3] units can use ChickHEN to provide a temporary hack. Read below.


PSP-3000

Nick: PSP Brite
Hackable: Yes, under special circumstances
Firmware: 5.03 [via ChickHEN]
Motherboards: TA-090 [v2]
Pandora: Not available

*All PSP-3000 exploits are not permanent. They will be gone when battery power is lost to the unit. (Either via shutdown or battery takeout)
*All 3000s can be upgraded to 5.03 to use the ChickHEN exploit in order to launch homebrew.*

*All 3000 users cannot flash their PSPs at this time.*
*Pandora Batteries cannot created with this motherboard.*


PSP GO!

Nick: n/a
Hackable: n/a
Firmware: 5.70+
Motherboards: TA-091, TA-094
Pandora: n/a

All information about the GO! pertaining to hacks, exploits, etc. are unknown at this time. Please check back later.

PSP Box Lettering

On every single new retail PSP, there is a letter near to the barcode/SKU that serves as the production date/batch. That letter allows us to determine which firmware should be installed on the PSP inside. This will help you increase your chances of getting a hackable PSP. Here's a list of all known letters.
If any buyers out there buy a PSP, please report the box letter and firmware. It will help complete the list!

PSP Phat

Spoiler:

A = 1.50
B = 1.51
C = 1.52
D = 1.52
E = 1.52
F = 2.00
G = 2.01
H = 2.50
I = 2.60
J = 2.70
K = 2.71
L = 2.81
M = 3.01
N = 3.03
O = 3.10
P = 3.11
Q = 3.30
R = 3.40
S = 3.50
T = 3.51
U = 3.52

PSP Slim*

Spoiler:

*If any PSP comes with 4.01 or higher installed, it automatically has a TA-088v3 motherboard.*

No letter = 3.60
A = 3.71
B = 3.71
C = 3.72
D = 3.73
E = 3.80
F = 3.90
G = 3.95 / 4.01
H = 3.95 / 4.01
I = 4.01
J = 4.05

PSP 3000

Spoiler:

(No letter) = 4.20
A = 4.20/4.21
B = 5.01
C = 5.02
D = ??
E = ??

PSP GO!
n/a

Available Methods of Hacking

Now that you have probably gotten yourself a PSP that fits close to what you want with it, you will be glad to know that there are several common methods of hacking your PSP shared with at least 2 models of any PSP. This section will detail them all and what you need to know about them.

Pandora Battery / Magic Stick

-Apps Needed: Despertar Cementerio v8
-Firmware: ALL
-Motherboards: Phat [All] ; Slim [TA-085, and TA-088v1 and v2]
-Custom Firmware: 5.00 M33-6 or 5.50 GEN

Pandora Battery and the Magic Stick set has been around for a couple of years now and its first entry was for the PSP Phat. Over time, Despertar Cementerio steadily replaced the original 1.50 Pandora since the launch of the Slim units.

Slim units can only be hacked if the Magic Stick has some sort of Despertar Cementerio installed on it. You can use applications such as PSP Grader 8 and Rain's UltraLite MMS Maker to prepare a memory stick for you or just run the DCv8 installer on a PSP that can run homebrew. In Addition, make note of the fact that Phat batteries can work in both Phats and Slims while Slim batteries can only work with Slims alone.

Resources - Links to guides illustrating Pandora / MMS
Requires another, already hacked, PSP
Making a Pandora's Battery: The Softmod Method
-- Using your Pandora's Battery

Firmware: All
Making a Pandora's Battery: The Hardmod Method
-- Making the Battery
-- Making the Magic Memory Stick
-- Using your Pandora's Battery



ChickHEN + Hellcat's Recovery Flasher
-Apps Needed: ChickHEN R2 & Hellcat's Recovery Flasher
-Firmware: 5.03
-Motherboards: Phat [All] ; Slim [TA-085, and TA-088v1 and v2]
-Custom Firmware: 5.00 M33-6 or 5.50 GEN

This combo hack is a good option for those who can't get access to a Pandora Battery. This method is the "free" way out so to speak. However, it runs via HEN (homebrew enabler) which isn't the easiest way. This method will work only on PSPs that can use the Pandora method. In Addition, your PSP must be upgraded to firmware 5.03 or else the exploit won't work. If you are under, upgrade. If you are over, use a Pandora Battery. (Again, selected motherboards can use that method)

Guide to ChickHEN + Recovery Flasher
Installing CFW using ChickHEN + Recovery Flasher - Recommended


ChickHEN Not Working?
-Alternative Method #1
-Alternative Method #2
-Alternative Method #3

ChickHEN + CFWEnabler
-Apps Needed: ChickHEN R2 & CFWEnabler
-Firmware: 5.03
-Motherboards: Slim [TA-088v3] ; 3000 [All]
-Custom Firmware: 5.03 HEN w/ custom firmware environment

Unfortunately, our latter Sim and 3000 users have to settle with a temporary exploit for now. The good news is that old and new users alike can relive the days of HEN. The same HEN that was responsible for many downgraders in the past. (i.e. Downgraders of 2.60, 2.70, 2.71, 3.03, 3.11, 3.50)

HEN is always a temporary hack and it is completely safe. [The good news]
The bad news is that you cannot flash or use anything touches flash0 or else the PSP will be permanently bricked.

This method comes in two flavors. You can just get ChickHEN running to the point where you just want it for homebrew. If you are just the other so many users out there who want the custom firmware aspect, you can follow all the way to CFWEnabler.

PSP 2000 TA-088v3 / PSP 3000
-- ChickHEN
-- CFW Enabler*

ChickHEN Not Working?
-Alternative Method #1
-Alternative Method #2
-Alternative Method #3

*The latest version of CFWEnabler can be found in this exploit's details.

5.03 MHU
-Apps Needed: 5.03 MHU
-Firmware: 5.03
-Motherboards: Slim [TA-088v3] ; 3000 [All]
-Custom Firmware: 5.03 custom firmware environment

-Under construction-

5.03 HEN
-Apps Needed: 5.03 HEN-A
-Firmware: 5.03
-Motherboards: Slim [TA-088v3] ; 3000 [All]
-Custom Firmware: 5.03 HEN w/ custom firmware environment

-Under construction-


Running Homebrew Apps In Homebrew Enabled Environment

Depending on your custom firmware installed, in order to use 1.50 homebrew, you have 3 options available: The 1.50 kernel addon, LEDA and TimeMachine.

1.50 Kernel Addon [Phat Only]

The 1.50 kernel addon was made available as a separate installer starting with 3.71 M33. The 1.50 kernel is no longer included with the base custom firmware installations as the Slims cannot make any use of the 1.50 kernel. Each custom firmware release has its own kernel installer so you will have to pick up the right custom firmware for your PSP. Pick up the appropriate downloads for your custom firmware.

-1.50 Firmware EBOOT
-5.02 GEN 1.50 Kernel Addon
-5.00 M33 1.50 Kernel Addon
-4.01 M33 1.50 Kernel Addon
-3.90 M33 1.50 Kernel Addon
-3.80 M33 1.50 Kernel Addon
-3.71 M33 1.50 Kernel Addon

TimeMachine [PSP Phat ; TA-085, TA-088 [v1-v2] Slims]

Slim and PSP-3000 users are out of luck since they can't run their 1.50 kernel homebrew directly. They can still run any 3.xx/4.xx/5.xx kernel homebrew natively. (Depending on custom firmware. 3k users do not need to worry)

TimeMachine was developed as a way for Phat & hackable Slim users to boot into the 3.60 M33 [Slim], 3.40 OE-A [Phat], 1.50 [Phat] or 1.50 + 3.40 hybrid [Both] firmwares to run old homebrews. TimeMachine is outdated but it still serves its usefulness for running older homebrews. TimeMachine can also work on bricked PSPs. Since it requires Pandora, TA-088v3 Slim and 3000 users cannot use this.

TimeMachine Guide

LEDA [All PSPs]

LEDA was another beta application developed by Dark_Alex that allowed you to run 1.50 homebrew. It is similar to Noobz's eLoader application. Since it is a homebrew app, all PSP models are able to run it and use it to run 1.50 homebrew. You can pick up LEDA below:

LEDA v0.2 BETA

ISO/CSOs: What You Need To Know

All Phat PSPs and hackable Slim units are able to fully enjoy ISOs/CSOs. However, there are some exceptions depending on what game is used. Many of the newer games will most likely require a most recent firmware, and some work. The installation of ISOs work all the same:

-Acquire ISOs. If they come in a .RAR format, use WinRAR / 7-Zip to extract.
-Move the .ISO or .CSO file to ms0:/ISO. (ISO folder on root)
-Make sure a PSP folder exists at the root. Make sure a folder called GAME exists within this PSP folder. If not, ISOs will refuse to show!

-On the XMB, press SELECT to bring up the vshMenu. If you have it disabled, reboot into recovery by holding R while coldbooting the PSP.
-In the vshMenu, just go down to UMD ISO Mode and press right to make it say 'M33 Driver' or 'Sony NP9660'. Press select to exit.
-In the recovery menu, go to Configuration > UMD ISO Mode and press X to make it say any of the loaders mentioned above.. You can then exit recovery.
-Launch your game via GAME>MemoryStick

PSP-2000 [TA-088v3] & PSP-3000

Launching ISOs work in the same way as the other models. However, you must have ChickHEN and CFWEnabler running. If not, your ISOs won't show up and/or will fail to launch.

Games That Require Patching

With the new recent releases of games that require 5.55 or above to play, Sony has changed encryption keys for these games. Due to the fact that we do not have any 5.55+ CFW, we cannot play these games out of the box. In order to do so, we must do patching of these games in order to play them. Check the spoilers for information for your custom firmware:

Spoiler for SE/OE Series:

It's awesome to still see users on these legacy firmwares. However, DAX hasn't left the building yet and you are still messing out on all the nifty features that the newer M33 series have to provide. If you are on this custom firmware, your only choice is to upgrade:

3.x OE/SE

1. Update to 5.00 M33-6 then
2. Update to 5.50 GEN D

After you upgrade your custom firmware, you can check out the corresponding spoilers for more information.

Spoiler for M33 Series:

It's been a while since DAX updated his firmware. However, you guys are not left out. You can still play most games provided that you decrypt + patch them first with Yoshirio's Decrypter. The following tutorial will help you to upgrade from whatever M33 firmware to the latest. If you prefer to skip this process, you will have to move onto 5.50 GEN:

WARNING: Playing games too low under the firmware requirement runs the risk of corrupting that game's savedata when you upgrade. Several of these games included the PSP Minis! and GTA: Chinatown Wars. (Which require both 6.00+)

How to Play Games That Require 5.55+

Spoiler for 5.03 GEN / MHU:

For you guys on 5.03 GEN or MHU, you still will have to decrypt and patch games with version 4 of the decrypter. So follow the steps for the M33 Series users. If you are using 5.03 GEN, just wait for the update that will include the 5.50 GEN-D2 features, which will make you able to play games out of the box.

If you are using 5.03 GEN/MHU and have a Fully Hackable PSP, (Not TA-088v3 Slim or 3000), you can upgrade to 5.50 GEN-D and then 5.50 GEN-D2 using the latest XGEN UPDATER.

WARNING: Playing games too low under the firmware requirement runs the risk of corrupting that game's savedata when you upgrade. Several of these games included the PSP Minis! and GTA: Chinatown Wars. (Which require both 6.00+)

Spoiler for 5.50 GEN Series:

With the release of 5.50 GEN-C, you are able to play games without any patching as it is built into the firmware itself. 5.50 GEN-D2 has the latest fixes for games, and its decrypter. If you find this way to be much more easier, upgrade to 5.50 GEN-D2 and you can just load up your games. Here's a tutorial on how to upgrade to 5.50 GEN-D from 4.01 M33+

Upgrading to 5.50 GEN-D via XGEN UPDATER

If you are on 3.90 M33 or lower, use these tutorials to upgrade:

3.x OE/SE

1. Update to 5.00 M33-6 then
2. Update to 5.50 GEN D

3.52 M33-4 -> 3.90 M33-3

Either
1. Update to 5.00 M33-6 and then update to 5.50 GEN D
OR
2. Manually Update to 5.50 GEN B2 and then update to 5.50 GEN D

Once done, you can upgrade to 5.50 GEN-D2.

Spoiler for Tips for launching ISOs:

PLAYING VIDEO ISO's
To play video iso's, copy iso into ms0:\iso\video\ then, goto vsh menu from xmb by pressing "home" button for 3.52M33 and "select" for 3.71M33.
Scroll down to "iso video mount" and mount iso, exit vsh menu and goto game>memstick and run movie...(must have umd in, any UMD)

GAMES/ISO'S:
A few reminders for playing iso/cso games:
-You must have Custom Firmware running or on a firmware that can launch ISOs.
-Make sure gamename is less than 20 characters
-Iso/cso files go in ISO folder(eg. ms0:\ISO\wipeout.iso)
-U must have a folder called "game" in psp folder (ms0:\psp\game) make one if u must or format memcard with psp to create folder structure...
-make sure u have set iso loader/umd mode to sony np9660 or m33 driver

That's about it. (Aside from those Under Construction Marks :p) If you want to contribute links or anything, please feel free to post. There will be far more sections popping up soon so make sure you keep an eye for them!

[wh1tef@ng]

thnx dude... this looks really good

[Scorpus]

Very nice guide Demon I also noticed the links to my guide

[Dangy]

Very nice, organized guide! I would give you rep, but I need to spread, plus my rep isn't worth anything. d:

The only thing I would add is where the letter is on the box when buying a PSP to see what firmware it has.

[hacker555]

I've got a box letter for you!
PSP 3000
B - 5.01

By the way...Very nice guide!

[Demonchild]

Originally Posted by hacker555

I've got a box letter for you!
PSP 3000
B - 5.01

By the way...Very nice guide!

Nicee. +rep

[bestyugiman]

Thx dude . Very nice guide .
I'd give you rep but I have to spread some rep before I give rep to you again

[jcs990]

nice guide =))
2 Thumbs uP!!!

[kjlkcdo]

The only thing I would add is where the letter is on the box when buying a PSP to see what firmware it has.
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